President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Mrs Sade Thomas-Fahm, the matriarch of Nigeria’s fashion industry, on the occasion of her 88th birthday.
President Buhari, in a congratulatory message released by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, on Tuesday in Abuja thanked Thomas-Fahm for pioneering the use of locally woven and dyed textiles in the early 1960s.
The president believed that this gave the world the first image of the Nigerian look and fostered a feeling of cultural independence for Nigerians.
According to him, the choice this year of six of Thomas-Fahm’s original designs for exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum London, will enable future study of her work by historians, academics, fashion designers in perpetuity.
He also commended Mrs Thomas-Fahm for giving the best of her life in service of her community and the nation.
He acknowledged her keen interest in developing future generations of fashion designers, serving as an academic visitor at the Yaba College of Technology for decades and endowing an academic prize.
President Buhari felicitated the entire Thomas-Fahm family and prayed for Thomas-Fahm’s good health, the grace of God and more years of service to Nigeria and humanity.